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A level dates

By moving the A-level exams earlier, the Government can get rid of AS levels and construct coherent courses

November 2 2011, 12:01am, The Times

Sir, The proposal to schedule A-level exams earlier in the year (“Get your A levels, then apply to university”, Oct 31) comes from Ucas and is intended to make the process of university admissions easier and fairer. But the huge implications for pre-university education call into question the whole idea of modular A levels. If universities have access to full A-level results on which to base their decisions, why would they need AS levels at the end of the first year? Why indeed.

There lies before us the delicious prospect of a chance to construct coherent, progressive courses that put teaching before testing and leave the formal examination to the end; clearing away some of the hoops, and the modular mentality that staccato assessment has…